Vehicle underride impact detection systems and methods

1. A vehicle comprising:

a camera for capturing an image of a target vehicle;

sensors for detecting a speed and heading of the vehicle; and

a processor configured to:

determine a target vehicle classification;

determine an open space of the target vehicle;

responsive to determining the target vehicle classification as a semi-truck, determine a boundary of the open space without considering an underride guard of the target vehicle as the boundary of the open space;

determine a closing speed between the vehicle and target vehicle;

predict an underride impact based on the classification, open space, and closing speed; and

responsively execute an impact action.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the camera is a forward facing camera coupled to a rear view mirror of the vehicle.

3. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the target vehicle classification is determined based on the image of the target vehicle captured by the camera.

4. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the open space of the target vehicle is determined based on the image of the target vehicle captured by the camera.

5. The vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the open space comprises an area extending from a base of the target vehicle to a ground, and from a first target vehicle wheel to a second target vehicle wheel.

6. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein determining the closing speed comprises:

determining a speed and heading of the target vehicle;

comparing the determined speed and heading of the vehicle and the target vehicle; and

responsively determining the closing speed.

7. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the impact action comprises:

alerting a driver of the vehicle of an imminent underride collision.

8. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the impact action comprises transmitting a signal from the vehicle to the target vehicle.

9. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the signal indicates an underride collision is predicted.

10. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the impact action comprises modifying a collision system of the vehicle.

11. The vehicle of claim 10 , wherein modifying the collision system of the vehicle comprises changing which airbag(s) are activated upon detection of a crash.

12. The vehicle of claim 10 , wherein a modified collision system is configured to:

determine that a crash has occurred based on one or more images captured by the camera; and

responsively activate a vehicle restraint.

13. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

estimate an underride impact energy; and

responsively execute the impact action based on the underride impact energy.

14. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to, responsive to determining the target vehicle classification as a semi-truck, determining the boundary of the open space without considering at least one physical object disposed between front wheels of a tractor unit of the semi-truck and rear wheels of the tractor unit of the semi-truck as the boundary of the open space.

15. The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the at least one physical object comprises a fuel tank.

16. A method comprising:

capturing a target vehicle image with a camera of a vehicle;

detecting a speed and heading of the vehicle;

determining a target vehicle classification;

determining an open space of the target vehicle;

responsive to determining the target vehicle classification as a semi-truck, determining a boundary of the open space without considering an underride guard of the target vehicle as the boundary of the open space;

determining a closing speed between the vehicle and the target vehicle;

predicting an underride impact based on the classification, open space, and closing speed; and

responsively executing an impact action.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the target vehicle classification is determined based on the target vehicle image.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the open space of the target vehicle is determined based on the target vehicle image, and wherein the open space comprises an area extending from a base of the target vehicle to the ground, and from a first target vehicle wheel to a second target vehicle wheel.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the impact action comprises transmitting a signal from the vehicle to the target vehicle indicating an underride collision is predicted.

20. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

estimating an underride impact energy; and

responsively executing the impact action based on the underride impact energy.